Just for Laughs’ Andy Nulman Reveals His Formula for Funny

Image: Luke Reznor

As part of their global expedition exploring what makes things funny, professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner are grilling humorists about the science behind scoring laughs. The Humor Code chronicles their adventures, scientific experiments and unintentional comedy along the way. Learn more about McGraw, Warner and their escapades at HumorCode.com.

Film has Cannes. Sports have the Olympics. Music has South by Southwest. Comedy? It has Just for Laughs.

The Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary with a month-long party ending July 31, is hands down the largest comedy festival in the world. This is where comedy superstars rub elbows with podcast kings and sitcom showrunners, where promising new talent hope to make it big by catching the eye of just the right industry insider. This is where an entire city turns into one big, rowdy comedy club.

Much of the credit for this comedic phenomenon goes to Andy Nulman. In 1985, Nulman, then a journalist, joined the two-day-long Francophone comedy festival, then two years old, adding English-language events and extending the celebration to a month. By the time he departed in 1999, Just for Laughs was an international force to be reckoned with. Then, after founding the tech company Airborne Mobile and selling it for nearly $100 million, Nulman came back, becoming Just for Laugh’s president of festivals and television.

Although stand-up is not his forte, in his role at Just for Laughs Nulman has worked many a room and has learned a thing or two about what makes things funny. In between readying his town for the ultimate 30th birthday bash, Nulman offered up some of his trade secrets.

Wired: How do you define humor?

Andy Nulman: Humor is a necessity, as important as water or oxygen for human survival. Too bad so many people underestimate its power, and see it as something frivolous.

Wired: What do you think makes things funny?

Nulman: Hate to be formulaic, but to me, funny is a function of two parts familiarity and one part surprise; F2S if you will. Great humor is a brain game, not for the feeble-minded. It takes you on a journey, and jerks you around just when you think you know where you’re going.

Wired: Were you born funny, or did your funniness come from practice and development?

Nulman: I was born gutsy. My funniness comes from others. The way I make people laugh is by saying and/or doing the slightly inappropriate. A kind of “smarter smart-ass.” Not enough to be hated, but enough to know better.

Wired: Does good comedy have to come from a screwed-up childhood?

Nulman: No it doesn’t. My mother told me that while beating me with a hairbrush.

Wired: What are the biggest misconceptions about what you do?

Nulman: That, after 30 years in the comedy business, I’m actually funny. I feel like the janitor at the MIT Media Lab — just because he’s in the building doesn’t qualify him a genius.

Wired: What, for you, is the toughest kind of audience to make laugh?

Nulman: Toughest kind of audience is comprised of comatose Jewish people over the age of 65 sitting in a banquet room. You’d be surprised how often I’ve faced this type of crowd. Why are they tough? Because most are sleeping, and those that are actually awake bark: “You call that funny? My grandchildren can do better!”

Wired: What makes a good comedic performance space? What makes a bad one?

Nulman: A good space has clear sight lines, crisp lighting and a crystal-clear sound system. A bad space is when the clear sight lines are just paths for projectiles, the sound system is two round PA speakers invisibly embedded in the ceiling, drinks are two-for-one, shooters are a buck and the audience is illiterate.

Wired: How could the comedy industry do better at finding, fostering and promoting new talent?

Nulman: It’s not up to the industry; it’s up to the talent. The industry will always be there to jump on and ride the next big thing … not that there’s anything wrong with that. But if the industry gets too involved too early, it may taint the end product. To me, developing comedic talent is like kids and sports — instead of trying to organize them, give them a proper place to play … then stand on the sidelines and look for the standouts.

Wired: How will comedy be different five years from now? Who — or what — is the future of comedy?

Nulman: Broadcast in all its forms won’t be enough anymore, no matter how small and powerful devices get. Comedy will jump from the stage and screen to our everyday life. While there will always be shows and films, the new comedy will envelop our daily existence and be played like a competitive game. This is my holy grail at Just for Laughs: finding this new digital comedy DNA. I won’t rest until I find it. Or at least until I’m over 65, sitting comatose in a banquet room.

To read more of Andy Nulman’s interview, as well as learn more about McGraw, Warner and their escapades, go to the Humor Code website.

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